It's not that I don't like you
by Darev
Summary: Odd had just left Samantha hanging at the skateboarding competition and now that the fight with Xana is over he must contend with his feelings for her. Will he lose Sam forever?


**This Oneshot that takes place after "Final Round". When Odd and Samantha parted ways during the skateboarding competition there wasn't any closure between them. This picks up right after the end of that episode when Odd must come to terms with his feelings for Sam and to find out whether she feels the same way.

* * *

**

"It has to be a trick. No way Franz got out of Lyoko in time before Xana deleted it." Ulrich's comment fell on deaf ears as all attention was focused on Jeremie who was working on his laptop. "Hey! Did any of you guys hear me? Xana's feeding us faulty information. Don't fall for it."

Odd looked over his shoulder at Ulrich. "And why would Xana do that? He's already kicked our ass, taken possession of William and destroyed the Heart of Lyoko. As far as he's concerned we're no threat."

"He's right, Ulrich." Now it was Yumi's turn. "Right now there's no way we could possibly fight Xana. He's free to roam the Internet at will."

"Which means we can't do a damn thing to stop him." Odd continued. "He's probably forgotten all about us right now. Besides, Jeremie would know if it's a fake. Ain't that right, Einstein?"

Einstein was Odd's nickname for the young genius that was Jeremie Belpois. It was an accurate description as Jeremie was an intellectual prodigy at Kadic Academy, receiving some of the highest grades in the school's history. He was the brains of the group, the guy that came up with all the strategies and plans for their war against Xana. He always had an answer for everything and could figure out a counter to all of Xana's ploys.

Jeremie was sitting on the rugged old couch that was left abandoned in the Hermitage living room. His face was stern as his eyes scanned the screen before him. Jeremie stopped momentarily to fix his glasses. "Nope. This is definitely the real deal." He looked up. "This message was sent from Franz Hopper via the Internet. Somehow he managed to escape before Lyoko was deleted."

"If we had more time we would have been able to virtualize him." Aelita stated. A heavy sadness overtook her. If Jeremie was the brains of the outfit then Aelita was the heart. She had brought them all together as a team and as friends. Without her, none of them would be here right now. The only person missing from her life now was Franz Hopper, her father and the creator of Lyoko. He was Xana's sworn enemy and the reason he destroyed the virtual world in the first place. So long as he lived he was a threat to the malevolent super virus and the only thing preventing it from destroying the world.

"I'm sorry, Aelita." Jeremie said. "I tried my best but Xana was just too strong. He's always been two steps ahead of me."

"Don't beat yourself up, Jeremie. We're the ones who've been getting our butts handed to us every time we fight him." Yumi said. "If anyone's to blame it's us." She shook her head. "No. I'm sorry. It's my fault."

"Come again?" Odd asked.

"I'm the one that suggested we bring William into the group. If it hadn't been for him Lyoko would still be around and Franz Hopper would be here with us." Her hands clenched into vengeful fists. "I was so stupid to trust him. That jerk!"

"We all trusted him." Aelita said. "He betrayed all of us, Yumi, not just you."

"I'd love to get my hands on the bum." Odd punched his fist into his palm. "Teach him a thing or two about backstabbing your friends."

"He was never my friend. I knew he was trouble from day one."

Yumi flashed Ulrich a suggestive glare. "Is that the only reason?"

Embarrassed, Ulrich turned away. "Of course. What else would there be?"

Yumi sighed and crossed her arms before turning back to Jeremie. Aelita and Odd exchanged exasperated glances as this was nothing new. Ulrich and Yumi obviously had it bad for one another but were too dumb-and stubborn-to do anything about it. Too often their on again/off again relationship hampered the team's effectiveness and even more often aggravated the hell out of the others. If they were to just put their differences aside they would make a great couple. But try telling that to the two most prideful people any of them had ever met.

"William was under Xana's control. Need I remind you that he's done the same thing to each of us on separate occasions. Does that mean we should go pointing fingers at one another every time we screw up? No." Jeremie eyed each of them before continuing. "William was green and inexperienced, completely unprepared for the world we brought him into. The same could have happened to Jim, or Herb, or Sissi! He was cocky, I'll admit, but haven't we all at one point thought ourselves indestructible? Let me remind each of you that William Dunbar, a living, breathing human being, is no longer with us. While it's easy for us to blame him for everything that's happened it is he that's paid the ultimate price. He's gone. A prisoner of Xana. God only knows what's happened to the poor guy. What will we tell his parents? While not technically dead he just as well may be."

Aelita could see the turmoil in Jeremie's face. He was fighting back tears, she realized. As leader, Jeremie was responsible for each and every one of them. He felt that William's "demise" was on his shoulders and he blamed himself for it. She sat down beside him and placed a hand on a slightly bobbing shoulder. "Jeremie…"

"He's gone. We have no right to pass judgment on him for what's happened. He wasn't ready. We should not have brought him in. I should have," Tears streamed down his eyes and he could no longer speak. Aelita threw her arms around him and began to cry along with him. The others were speechless. They had never thought to think about the repricutions for William. He willingly chose to go to Lyoko. He knew the dangers. Well, maybe he didn't, but he was their responsibility. Who were they to judge him? He was just a kid. Like them. And now he was gone.

"Jeremie, we're sorry." Yumi began. "We didn't mean,"

Jeremie was too far in despair to hear them. He began to convulse with sobs and Aelita turned to the others. The look in her eyes told them everything they needed to know. In silence, Odd, Ulrich and Yumi left the two alone. Aelita put the laptop to the side and returned to hugging Jeremie. She stayed with him through the late hours. He cried and he cried but Aelita never left his side. It's times like these when one needed a true friend. Aelita was all that to Jeremie and more…even though he did not know it.

* * *

"This sucks." Odd admitted to himself. 

He walked in between Ulrich and Yumi as they took their leave of the Hermitage. The events of the past few hours played vividly in their minds. Before Xana had taken over William and destroyed Lyoko, each of them were dealing with personal problems of their own. Those problems were left unresolved. Now that meant they had a war waiting upon their return.

_Samantha…_

Odd thought back to the girl he had left back at the skateboarding competition. Samantha Knight, a truer beauty you will never find. It wasn't just her looks that entranced Odd either. She was funny, had a great sense of humor and laughed at his jokes. She was kind, so very easy to talk to and probably most of all, she liked him. She truly liked him. Not just for a one-night stand or just to be seen with a member of the opposite sex but a true attraction. Samantha, or Sam as she preferred to be called, enjoyed being with Odd and the feeling was more than mutual. Problem is, she was leaving after the competition to go back to her home on the coast. He may never see her again for a long time. The way he split on her to go help his friends he may never see her again period! That was something Odd could not let go.

"Guys, I've gotta split." He told Ulrich and Yumi. Both were lost in their own contemplations and seemed startled by Odd's sudden outburst. "I'll catch up with you tomorrow, alright? If you see Jeremie again tell him I said I was sorry and that it was not his fault." He went to leave but Ulrich stopped him. "Odd!"

"Huh?" The blonde turned around.

"You okay?"

"Sure. It's just…well."

"Something bothering you?" Yumi asked him.

Neither she nor Ulrich seemed too keen on him leaving at the moment but Odd could not be deterred. He needed to see Sam. He needed to speak with her one last time. If she left before he caught her he would never be able to forgive himself. Odd remembered how sad she looked when he had left. How could they part on those terms?

"It's nothing. Look, I've really gotta go. I'll see you back at the dorm, Ulrich." He turned and ran off. "Yumi, good night!" Those were his last words to them as he ran full speed back to the Academy. He hoped against hope that Sam was still there waiting for him and if she wasn't—well than Odd may have just missed out on the chance of a lifetime. "Please don't be gone, Sam. I'm coming!"

* * *

It was the early evening by the time Odd had reached Kadic Academy. The street lamps illuminated the falling darkness and throughout the campus kids were heading for their dorms to turn in for the night. Odd had reached the auditorium where he had last seen Samantha and burst through the doors. The room was empty save for a janitor sweeping up the floor. "Oh no." He muttered though he knew it would be unrealistic that anyone would remain this long after his departure. 

A heavy hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Odd Della Robbia!" Jim Morales, the gym teacher and disciplinarian barked. "Where have you been? I've been looking all over you after you disappeared from the competition."

"Jim!" Odd gasped. Without thinking he grabbed the man's red jacket, clutching it within his hands. "Where's Sam? Did she leave?"

"Whoa! Hold on there. I'll be asking the questions, young man. Now I want an answer…and will you take your hands off me!?"

Odd was forcefully pushed back and held in place by Jim's strong arms. "Now talk! Where were you? And don't lie to me, Odd."

"I was…I was with my friends." He stammered.

"Oh really? And what were you doing?"

"Helping them." He answered. "You see, Jeremie fell down and sprained his ankle. My cousin, Aelita, called me and asked to come help her bring him to the Infirmary. The nurse said he'll get better but Aelita had an errand to run so I had to stay with Jeremie and help him back to his room. I came back as soon as I could."

Jim scoffed. "Do you take me for a fool, Odd? I spoke to Dorothy not too long ago and she didn't say anything about seeing you or Jeremie or Aelita or anyone else for that matter. Besides, even I know it doesn't take two hours to help somebody get from the nurse's office to the dorms. Now I want the truth, Odd. Tell me where you were or it's off to the principal's office."

"No! Not that. It's just," Odd hung his head in defeat.

A concerned look appeared on Jim's face and he knelt down to be on eye-level with Odd. He loosened his grip on the boy's shoulders just a bit. "Hey, what's wrong? You sick or something?"

Odd looked at Jim, his eyes pleading. "Look, Jim, I'm really sorry for running off like that but I had to go. My friends needed me and I couldn't let them down. You wouldn't abandon your friends would you?"

"Of course not. But what was so important that you had to leave?"

"It's…I'm sorry, Jim. I can't tell you. I made a promise and I keep my promises. Let's just say I was doing something for the good of us all."

"That's not good enough, Odd."

"Jim…Jimbo…I need to see Sam."

"Sam?" Jim asked not caring that Odd had used his informal name.

"Samantha Knight. She was a finalist with me during the competition. I was talking with her before I left. I didn't want to go but I had to. She didn't understand because I couldn't tell her. Now she's going back home and I'm afraid if don't see her before she leaves then,"

"She'll never speak to you again." Jim finished for him. "So I see. You're in love."

Odd blushed. "What? No! That's not it at all."

"Save it, Odd. I've seen your type enough to know when Cupid's arrow has struck." He smiled. "Miss Knight is cute. I can see why she'd steal your heart. But a woman is a very fickle thing. You have to understand the delicacies of courtship before you can even begin to woo her. Why one time I was a bachelor on this reality show with some of the most beautiful women imaginable."

"You were on a reality show?"

"Absolutely. But I'd rather not talk about it." Jim stood up. "Odd while I can understand your feelings I cannot let you go without a justifiable explanation."

"Jim please." Odd cupped his hands in prayer. "I'm begging you. Let me find Samantha. I may never get another shot with her again."

"Odd I…"

"If you really understand what I'm going through then you'll let me go." Odd went on. "Listen, when I get back you can punish me any way you want. Ground me, make me do push-ups, have me run around the track every day after school for five hours, I don't care! I'll do anything if you just let me go."

"She really means that much to you, huh?"

"I'd like to find out."

Jim thought about it a moment. Despite Odd's reputation for being a liar, Jim knew sincerity when he saw it. Odd meant every word of it, including the ones about him being punished. This was very similar to an event that happened in this past though he'd rather not think about it.

"Alright, Odd. Go find your woman."

Odd's face lit up. "You're the best, Jim! And I really mean that. I don't care what Ulrich says behind your back you are truly one of a kind!" Odd moved around Jim and left in a big hurry. Jim took a moment to ponder Odd's last comment before he left. "Ulrich says things behind my back?"

* * *

"Sam!" Odd's voice rang out in the hallow air while he frantically searched for that one special girl. Was it love? Odd had never given it much thought. Jim's words got him thinking on how to define this relationship of theirs. He'd known Sam for a short time before she moved out to the coast. In that brief time, however, Odd and Sam developed a special connection. It was more than a simple crush but not quite true love. Puppy love? Was there a difference? Odd did not know. All he knew was that he had to see her before she left. 

Odd stopped to catch his breath. All this running around combined with the tension of missing Sam was draining him. Why did this mean so much to him? Never had he felt so desperate in his life even against Xana. He then began to realize what it was. The fear of not knowing of what could be. The failure of lost opportunities. He had seen what Ulrich and Yumi had and he wondered would he ever be able to find something like that. Odd had been with a lot of girls, but none of them compared with Samantha. Sam. His Sam. He had lost her.

I've lost her.

"Sam." He muttered.

"Odd." A familiar voice called out to Odd and for a split second he could have sworn it was Sam. But it wasn't. It wasn't even a girl. Ulrich Stern approached him with a face mimicking his own. The face of someone who had lost something very important to him. "Did you find her?"

Odd quickly turned away and that was all the answer Stern needed. "I'm sorry, buddy. I know how much she means to you."

"You do?"

"Yeah." Ulrich stepped up to him. "Trust me. I know exactly what you're going through." He placed a hand on Odd's sagging shoulder as he spoke. "For what it's worth I think you two would have been happy together."

"You think so?"

"I know so, Odd. What you and Sam have, it's,"

"Like you and Yumi?"

Ulrich winced at the name and Odd felt he had crossed a painful line. "Did something happen?"

"Yeah. Something did." Ulrich turned his back on Odd and put his hands in his pockets. "It's not something I really want to talk about, you know."

Odd put his hand around Ulrich's shoulder and put on his best smile. "Then you won't have to. Come on. It's almost time for bed and we have a big day tomorrow. What say we hit the sack and start fresh tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I guess." Ulrich looked at him. "You okay with all this?"

"Can't cry over spilt milk. Besides, it would have never worked out between us."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I could never have been the man she wanted me to be."

"How so?"

Odd thought solemnly on that notion before answering. "With the way things are now, Ulrich, I don't think I'll be able to have a normal life anytime soon. Xana will be back and I don't want Sam or anyone else I care about to get caught in the middle of it." He tried to smile again but failed miserably. This was taking a bigger toll on him than he thought. Still, for Ulrich's sake as much as for his he had to put on a strong front. Whatever went on between him and Yumi must have been serious for him to look the way he did. Funny, Odd thought. Ulrich was such a lucky guy to have gone through that. Odd would never know the pleasure.

"Too bad I can't say the same thing for you." Odd playfully punched him the face and dragged him along toward the dorm.

"Knock it off, Odd." Ulrich said but allowed himself to be pulled along.

* * *

Moments later, Odd was in the restroom brushing his teeth before he went to bed. He looked himself in the mirror knowing full well that the care-free facade he was putting on was anything but true. He was hurting within and no matter how hard he ignored it, the pain would not go away. 

Rinsing, he cleaned his brush and then went straight for the dorm. He arrived at his room and opened the door to find Ulrich sprawled out on his bed. The guy didn't even bother to change into his pajamas. He hadn't even showered. "Guess Yumi really did a number on you." Odd whispered and quietly entered. His dog, Kiwi, saw him come in and offered a friendly bark as a hello. "Shh!" Odd ordered. "Be quiet, Kiwi. Have some manners." The dog whimpered and then laid his head down on Odd's bed.

"Good dog." Odd said. He went to the window to look outside. Curfew was on and the guard had closed the gates to the school. He wondered if Jeremie and Aelita were back. His cell phone started ringing and Odd rushed to silence it before waking Ulrich. "Who the hell?" He asked. Kiwi's head came up again. Odd pushed the on button and spoke in his quietest voice. "Jeremie? Aelita? You've got some nerve calling at this hour. Do you have any idea how,"

"Odd?"

That voice!

"Sam?" Odd asked in disbelief. "Is it really you?"

The girl sounded exhausted and every word sounded strained. "I…I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye to you…but my dad came and I….and I had to leave. I waited for you…but you never came back. Where did you go, Odd? I wanted to see you again."

"Sam." Odd glanced over at Ulrich to make sure he didn't wake him up but his friend was sound asleep. Odd placed his hand over his phone and walked toward the window keeping his voice nice and low. "I wanted to see you too."

"Then why didn't you come back?"

"I would have. But something came up. My friends needed my help. I couldn't just drop everything and leave."

"I thought I was your friend too."

"You are...no…you're more than that." Odd couldn't believe he had just said that. Well, no sense closing Pandora's Box now. "Look, Sam…heh, I don't really know how to say this."

"Do you like me?" She asked.

A straightforward question deserved a straightforward answer. Oddly enough, mister Della Robbia who could easily speak his mind in any other situation was tongue-tied. "Is it that you're too shy? Is that why you didn't come back?" She continued.

"No. That's not,"

"So you don't like me?" Her voice shook. "Tell me, Odd. Yes or no."

"Yes…no…I mean…I…" _What is wrong with me? I've finally reached her and now I can't say anything? You are really pathetic Odd Della Robbia._

"I see." Sam said on the other line. "Well in that case, I'm sorry to have disturbed you so late at night. I'll leave you alone then. Goodbye…"

"Sam! Don't!" He blurted out completely forgetting about his sleeping roomie. All went silent and it took everything he had from throwing his phone across the room or perhaps through the window. If anything, he should throw himself out the window for being so stupid!

"Sam…" Odd fell to his knees.

"Yes?" Her voice returned.

"Y…you're still there?"

"Yes."

_Now's your chance, dumbass. Either tell her how you feel or lose her forever. Don't make the same mistake Ulrich did._

"Sam."

"Yes." She repeated.

"It's not that I don't like you." He began. "It's that I really like you. A lot. A whole lot. I wanted to spend the whole day with you. I swear if that incident with my friends hadn't have come up that's just what I would have done. Believe me, Sam, you and me, we got something."

"We do?"

"Don't play like that. You know as well as I do we're made for more than this."

"We are." Sam sounded hopeful.

"You bet we are." Odd crawled over by the window and laid back against the wall. Kiwi watched him from the bed but human interactions bored him and he was sound asleep in moments. Ulrich hadn't stirred either which made it feel as if it were just Odd and Sam in the room.

"Listen, I know it'll be tough but I don't want to lose you. Even though we're far away, that doesn't mean you and I can't keep in touch. I'll call you everyday and send you cards during the holidays. Then when I have time off, I'll come over and visit you. Or maybe you can come visit me. How's that sound?" There was no answer and for the moment Odd thought he had chased her away. "Sam?" Wonderful! He must have sounded so clingy that she hung up. Way to go, Smooth Odd.

Sam began to chuckle over the phone.

"Hey, what's so funny?"

"Nothing."

"It doesn't sound like nothing." Odd told her.

"It's just that you said everything I was going to say to you during the competition. I wanted to stay in contact with you too because, well, I like you too Odd."

"Really?"

"Duh! What you thought I hung out with your for your skateboarding skills?"

"Ouch!" Odd feigned pain. "Now that hurt."

"I'm sorry." She admitted. "But it's so weird that you said it first. You took all the pressure off my shoulders now."

"So you feel the same way?"

"Uh-huh. Tell you the truth I was hoping you'd feel the same way. With so many girls at Kadic I thought you must have a dozen ladies vying for your attention."

"A dozen and one, actually. Can't help it if I'm so sexy."

Sam laughed. It was a wonderful sound. He would never stop telling jokes if it meant he could hear her laughing forever. "Sam."

"Yeah."

"I'm very happy right now."

"Me too."

Odd smiled. For the first time that day everything felt right. Parting from Sam was bad enough but losing William to Xana, having Lyoko deleted and being unable to make contact with Franz Hopper was more disappointment than one guy could handle. It may not have been a perfect day, but it sure was the ending to one. "So," Odd began. "Who won?"

Sam giggled. "Who do you think?"

* * *

**So what did you think? A story startled to develop in my head as I wrote this and I've been considering writing a major work on it but I want see if I get any feedback. Just to let you know I am working on oneshots for Yumi, Ulrich, Jeremie and Aelita that will be running parallel to this one. Odd is my favorite character in the show and I've been wanting to do a story on him for some time. Let me know what you think. Thanks guys!**

**-Knight**


End file.
